TEASER (for reading earlier in the show or the hour, at your discretion):
Coming up shortly on CHMA, the daily news roundup, with the following local stories:
New rules for end of life care,
celebrating nurses,
And waiting for the results of re-opening.
That’s coming up on the CHMA daily news roundup in about *** minutes.
NEWS:
And now for the CHMA daily news roundup:
The province reported no new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend in New Brunswick.
Public health posted 290 new test results, with 86 in the South East Region.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell said the goal is to do at least 2300 tests per week.
Russell says effects of the second phase of re-opening won’t be seen until the end of May. Ample testing is required to see the effects.
AUDIO Russell clip 1
So remember that this virus has an incubation period of up to two weeks. If the virus was spread by activity over the weekend, then we will not see that for several But we will see it on our test results. And I do encourage everyone who has symptoms to call 811. And get tested. Encourage your friends and family if they have symptoms to get tested, because that is the only way that we can find cases is if we get tested.
Russell also announced new guidelines for end of life visitation.
AUDIO Russell clip 2
out of compassion, we don’t want anybody to have to die alone and COVID-19 has created that situation. Over and over again, as we’ve seen in other jurisdictions, and it is a very sad fate and and we obviously it’s not something that we want to see in this crisis. So I believe we can provide access for families while still protecting those who are at greatest risk at this moment. So the rules regarding visits to patients at the end of their life have been adjusted, and a patient may designate two persons to visit with them as they near the end of their lives.
Similar to the two-household bubble policy, the two designated visitors must be the same, and cannot change or rotate.
AUDIO Russell clip 3
“Only one visitor will be allowed in at one time, although exceptions can be made for some circumstances, such as to support a frail elderly person visiting their spouse. So visitors must practice physical distancing and limit their interactions with facility staff. Again, we’re not only protecting the vulnerable, vulnerable populations in this in this situation, but we also need to be very, very vigilant about protecting the staff as well. designated visitors must also closely monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 and refrain from visiting if symptoms appear.“
Both Russell and Premier Blaine Higgs acknowledge the efforts of nurses this week, as did Canada’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Theresa Tam in Ottawa.
AUDIO Tam clip 1
“This brings me to a very special week of recognition and acknowledgement of some of the other important nurturers in our society. Today marks the beginning of National Nursing week. We all know that nurses deliver expert care with a special power of nurturing and we have been very aware of the many sacrifices they have made to be there for their patients in every area of healthcare during this crisis. But their expertise and impact goes far beyond this spanning every area of health services, from education to the development of standards and guidelines to delivery of public health programs like vaccination, the implant mentation of infection prevention and control and contributing to research and innovation. Nurses contribute to wellness everywhere and we are also very much better for it. “
Tam asks Canadians to help celebrate nurses by joining in the daily 7pm driveway cheer or by shining a light in a window for nurses tonight.
Tam points out that today marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, who revolutionized the field of nursing.
AUDIO Tam clip 2
“It was a revolution that started small implementing hand washing and hygiene practices to save lives by preventing the spread of life threatening infections. Then slowly but with unshakable purpose, she raised the standards and profile of nursing and puts an indelible focus on the education of nurses. So in appreciation for the nurturing daily sacrifices, deep expertise and unshakable professionalism. Nurses everywhere. Shine a light in your window on Tuesday night.“
Premier Blaine Higgs says he is asking the federal government to change the rules for federal infrastructure funding coming to New Brunswick. Higgs says that funding dedicated to public transit is “more suited to provinces with larger urban municipalities than it is for New Brunswick.”
He also says he wants more of the money to be used for retrofitting and repair, instead of building new infrastructure.
Today is the first day of a virtual job fair run by the New Brunswick government happening at workingNB.ca. Higgs says about 50 companies have registered for the job fair. Higgs says employers and job seekers will be able to chat with each other directly, and employers can review the resumes of potential candidates.
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That was the CHMA daily news roundup.
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